We compared the enzymatic antioxidative defence mechanisms of some regional subspecies of Allium (A. cepa L., A. ascalonicum auct. hort., A. sativum L.) cultivated mainly in the western regions of Romania, and two modern Hungarian climate resistant F 1 hybrids. The variability in the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) and their changes under soil moisture stress were investigated. 1-week-long water stress revealed that among three Allium species, relative water content decreased only in A. ascalonicum leaves (up to 16%). Unlike root enzymes, the activities of the shoot enzymes, especially POD, GR and GST showed a stronger correlation with the water content of the leaves after one week of water withdrawal; regression coefficients (R 2 ) were 0.359, 0.518 and 0.279, respectively. The ancient populations with elevated (or highly inducible) antioxidant enzyme activities may be interesting for further research and for breeding of new Allium varieties.
Fruits of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) are valued mainly for their nutraceutical properties, and are among the fruits with the highest antioxidant activity due to their high content of phenolic compounds. The aim of this research was to assess the total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of fruits in six wild bilberry populations from two regions of Romania over three years. The total polyphenol content was determined according to the Folin–Ciocalteu modified method, while the antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging assay. The Padis and Raul Lung populations registered the highest values of polyphenol content and antioxidant activity, as such the fruits of these bilberry populations could be considered potential sources of antioxidants for direct consumption or for use as ingredients for food products or food supplements. Significant variation of total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity was observed both between populations from the same region and from different regions. The low level of broad sense heritability for total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity associated with the high effects of year, and population–year interaction indicates that the accumulation of polyphenols in bilberry fruits is influenced by changes in environmental conditions.
Drought resistance of bean landraces was compared in order to select genotypes with either high morphological or high biochemical-physiological plasticity. The lines in the former group exhibited fast reduction in fresh and dry mass, decreased the water potential in primary leaves after irrigation withdrawal and the biomass mobilized from the senescent primary leaves was allocated into the roots. These genotypes had high frequency of primary leaf abscission under water stress. The genotypes with plasticity at the biochemical level maintained high water potential and photochemical efficiency, i.e. effective quantum yield, high photochemical (qP) and low non-photochemical (NPQ) quenching in primary leaves under drought stress. While superoxide dismutase activity was not influenced by the drought and the genotype, catalase activity increased significantly in the primary leaves of the genotypes with efficient biochemical adaptation. Lines with high morphological plasticity exhibited higher quaiacol peroxidase activity under drought. Proline may accumulate in both cases, thus it may be a symptom of protein degradation or a successful osmotic adaptation. On the basis of contrasting responses, the genetic material cannot be screened for a large-scale breeding program by a single physiological parameter but by a set of the methods presented in this work.
Tilia spp. (lime trees) as ornamental trees have a privileged place in the European mythology and traditions and this is a reason of their constant presence in the urban landscape. Lime trees are in general very resistant to biotic and abiotic stress, although some sanitary problems may occur (e.g. aphids and other related organisms). Tilia spp. are considered a good bioindicator and accumulator of heavy metals. Seasonal accumulations of Pb, Ni, Cr, Mn, Cu and Fe in leaves of Tilia spp. in urban and periurban green areas of Western Romania, under different traffic conditions, were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results confirmed the direct correlation between the traffic intensity and the accumulation of Pb in leaves. By mitigating the effects of air pollution, especially in terms of heavy metals, Tilia spp. should be further promoted as urban trees.
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